Ball throwing machines are used to throw baseballs, softballs, tennis balls and the like. For baseballs or softballs, the ball throwing machine may be used in batting practice to repeatedly throw balls to a batter which the batter attempts to hit. Some ball throwing machines can throw different types of pitches, such as fastballs, changeups, and/or curveballs. However, these ball throwing machines require physical adjustment to change the pitch type so that the pitches arrive at the batter in the proper position (e.g., the strike zone). The adjustment may require a longer pause between pitches, and/or changing the position of one or more components of the ball throwing machine. The batter may recognize the longer delay between pitches and/or see the adjustment of the machine, and this may indicate to the batter that a different pitch is coming, thereby negating the surprise element in batting practice.